1. Technical Field
This invention generally relates to data storage in a computing environment, and more specifically relates to reporting errors to a data storage device and storing error information on the data storage device such that the error information is available later to assist in determining the cause of the error.
2. Background Art
Cloud computing is a common expression for distributed computing over a network and can also be used with reference to network-based services such as Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS). IaaS is a cloud based service that provides physical processing resources to run virtual machines (VMs) as a guest for different customers. The virtual machine may host a user application or a server.
A computing environment, such as a cloud computing environment, may have a large number of data storage devices. Data storage devices typically have higher failure rates than other components of the computing system. In many cases, the host computer detects an issue with a drive, and the drive is sent back to the manufacturer. However, the manufacturer often sees no issues with the drive and is unable to determine the cause of the failure.